Korean Like a Pro 3: Restaurant Talk

BAM! Welcome back, Korean Like a Pro. We never forgot about this segment. Never! We just got sidetracked for a bit with other projects. But this segment has a special place in our hearts, and we plan on doing more in the future, maybe not as a regular weekly segment, but we’ll do it every so often. Or should we do it as a weekly segment? What do you think?

Anyhow, I think the Russian part of this video needs a bit of an explanation. This might be a sensitive topic, but it needs to be discussed. KOREAN MEN: if you are reading this, please, please stop asking foreigner women if they are Russian. We know what you mean when you are asking. You’re not kindly asking if we’re from Russia. You’re not curious about our background or trying to start a conversation. You’re asking if we’re prostitutes, and it’s exceptionally offensive.

#1 Not all Russian women are prostitutes, and just the insinuation is unbelievably racist.

#2 Not all pretty foreigners are prostitutes. Just you asking is exceptionally insulting as well. Imagine if foreigners started asking random Korean women if they’re prostitutes. I don’t even know where to begin with this.

#3 And this is important, just in case people try claiming the opposite – not all Korean men are dirty perverts, either. Not all of them ask if you’re Russian. In fact, not many of them do, but it happens regularly enough to get you angry about it. Notice how we don’t go up to old Korean guys and ask them if they’re dirty Johns, either. Just because a few of them are, it’s far from reasonable to ask a random Ajosshi if he like prostitutes.

Ah well. I doubt scuzzy Korean men will be reading this anyways. They’re not really our target demographic. But we got that off our chests! And so, if you’re a woman coming to Korea, and you find yourself being asked if you’re Russian…well, now you know why!

Back to the movie: this time we finally go to a restaurant! As you might have remembered from our last Korean Like a Pro, we left our two characters just after they decided where they should eat. It’s been many months since then, and now they’re back in the Spring time ready to eat again, and their decision is the same as before! Woohoo! Dwegi Galbi 4 lyfe!

At the end of the video the guy says something along the lines of “very well. We won’t eat ice cream then.” It was really difficult to pronounce, because it’s supposed to sound like “Ice Cream Anmotgettneh,” but the transition from the T to the N sound is really difficult, especially since Simon had a cold, and he can barely pronounce his Ns with a stuffed nose. Note: we never claimed to be fluent in Korean to begin with!

If there are other scenarios or situations you’d like to see our Aegyo girl and her Oppa go through, so that we can try enacting some basic Korean that you’re interested in learning, let us know. We can’t promise that we’ll know how to talk about it in Korean, but we can at least give it a shot!

I love your translations of Oppa. They are so funny. I’ve always wondered why girls would call their crushes their older brother? The idea in America is if you think of someone as your brother you wouldn’t want to date them, then again it is a different culture so hey.

Hey guys, just stumbled across your channel. Very entertaining! I’m also trying to pick up a bit of Korean as I will be visiting in a few months. Your videos do help as you don’t say them too fast and like I said, entertaining to watch =) Please try to include a few more day-to-day phrases!

lol! Russians and Eastern Europeans are generally recognised as prostitutes in south korea but that kind of things happen all the time. When ‘Australian’ prime minister visited south korea for G20 summit last year, they presented her with a doll dressed in a ‘Austrian’ traditional costume. haha!

I want to download this as a podcast on iTunes but it’s not listed. :-( I’ve genuinely been wondering for a while how to say “I want this one” or “I want that one” in Korean. I’m going to take a quick trip to Seoul soon and eating is very important to me. So I need to communicate my neeeeeds (yeah, that sounds kiiiiinda dirty but whatevs) haha! :-)

Along those lines, you know what’d be great?? If you did some kind of top 10 Must Eat dishes, or top 10 street foods to gorge yourself on. I know this isn’t necessarily a food blog, but you know, I’d appreciate your personal recommendations! For real for real.

WOW!!!!!!!!!! I am sooooooo happy to see KOREAN LIKE A PRO again!!!!!!!!
i remember when i first watched it… it was really amazing..
I kept saying “Daebak” watching you!!
this time, i noticed this episode is kind of controversial but i think you pointed the truth exatly..
anyways, i will be looking forward to watching the next episode! C YA ;-D

LOL I love how you guys do that thumbs up thing at the end of each Korean Like a Pro vid.

And, huh, this is the first time I’ve ever heard of the whole Russian person thing. I’m Korean, but our family doesn’t live in Korea. It’s been quite a while since any of us has visited Korea, and my parents’ knowledge of Korea is a bit… back in the days (lol)… so it’s cool watching all your vids and learning what contemporary Korea is like, especially from a foreigner’s point of view. :D

i LOVE this segment!!!! please please pleeeease make them more often they’re amazing! im trying to learn korean and its so fun to watch you guys and figure out what you’re saying! and i always LOL at all your videos- tahnks for making them so awesome!! the whole oppa thing was really funny! haha it can honestly be used to mean about 20 different things. lollercoaster

Where did you guys learn this idea at all? That’s sooo not true! I have been a huge fan of this blog from 2009, but these days (mainly with WTF) I feel like you guys just generalize very rare things and situations as a common Korean thing…. I thought you guys really respect Korean culture… Ddung cream? Nose roller? Double-eyelid tape? Those are the things actually very few teen age girls use mainly for jokes… That’s not a general Korean thing…. If you just use those things as a weird funny things that exist in Korea, it’d have been fine…. But you guys make it too much generalized…. And also, you’ve referred that kind of dirty talk (which I swear to God, 99% of Korean male have never used in their lives) as a restaurant talk? I really feel humiliated by your generalization… I wanna ask you how many times you guys actually have experienced that kind of situation…. Why are you making fun of Korea with something that aren’t really true?

Okay guys… I think I clearly misread the whole point. I admit it and apologize for being kinda aggressive and overreacting. Actually (it might have been hard for you to guess from the name I used for the post), I’m Korean who’s now living in New York. Josh is my English name that I use here, but I have a Korean name which I’ve been using more than 30 yrs of my life in Korea. I didn’t know those horribly shame things have been happening to Caucasian ladies time to time in Korea. I really didn’t. Maybe I felt extremely ashamed and wanted to avoid that fact. Well, anyway, I’m sorry that kind of thing happens…. And as much as I was ashamed, my reaction actually reached to some of the other contents that could have been read as a joke about quirky things happening in Korea. Again, I’m sorry about that. (I guess me being in the US and still checking this blog so often kinda affected my emotion…)
Please know that I never had any intention to discourage you gut from making those fabulous videos that introduce Korean cultures to people outside Korea. If I remember it right, I once sent Simon the email concerning how I was enjoying this blog and wanted to let them know great restaurants in Bucheon… Basically, I’m a huge fan of this blog, still.. I’m coming back to Korea about a month to attend my sister’s wedding this June, and hopefully, I can guide you guys to ë¶€ì•”ê°ˆë¹„ in Bucheon which has the best Korean BBQ in Korea!!! Again, thanks for doing this, and sorry about my reaction. Happy Easter!

I see you been replied to already, but i do think you are missing the point on WTF. Its for fun and its things foreigners find interesting because there new to us, and interesting. Iâ€™m sure if people came to Canada there would be things they donâ€™t understand and think are a bit funny if you looked. As for the Russian comment Iâ€™m sure they did said that not all men do it, but it dose happen. It just a general warning that if it dose happen say no! lol

Love this series!! Would really like to see it every week. It would be so helpful to see romanized subtitles on the screen. On your website, a Hangul = romanized = English script for each line would be nice.

Erm, it’s also something you can call someone you have a crush on…. I think it’s anyone you have a close relationship with that is a little bit older than you?? But it’s definitely not meant JUST for your brother.

Russian sah-ram would literally translate to Russian person or when someone says that you to in a questioning way it would be more like, ‘you’re Russian?’/’Are you Russian?’
Lol, and no wonder… since there are a lot of young Russian prostitutes in Korea. Why? I don’t really know.

Nice! Very helpful~~I think I’ve had friends get asked that before, too. XP
Random question: Even though you say (in Korea) I only speak a little, do you get people speaking fluent Korean to you? I always use that phrase and most of the time, I still get long replies. my response is often O_O? …ëª°ë¼ìš”! >_>

ALL THE TIME! We’ll say that we speak a little Korean, a LIIIIIIIITLE Korean, and even make tiny motions with our hands, and they’ll say “ahhh………..AJSFWIUTAJ ajtwij bkajlkwito biuwoiuwet oiaoiutoiwe” really quickly afterwards. Nobody ever takes it easy on us :(

hey! i luv your web page!!! i was thinking that it would be great if you write subtitles in Korean so, viewers can read, watch or pronounce what you’re saying in Korean :-)
and i also love your segment, kpop music mondays!!!! yay!! <3

Oh dear…. I’m Dutch and I have been told I look scandinavian… Because I’m tall, blond and pale…
But it’s good to know that if a girl is asked something like that she can slap teh guy in teh face or beat him with her purse because that is disgusting! I don’t randomly go up to chinese people and ask if they will give me a massage with a happy ending! It’s so racist! Yuk!
But I like the giggity giggity boom boom XD that just kills me!

May I ask, how often does it happen to Martina? Are all foreigners thought to be from Russia in general, or is it just the dirty old men who are looking for prostitutes thinking that foreigners are from Russia?

Do it as a weekly segment! Give us those bits we cant get from guidebooks, phrasebooks and other ‘official’ sources. Give us the street talk, the ghetto talk! Give us the insider stuff! I know you guys are busy but i think it’s well worth it. And don’t forget to do a write up under the video, just like here – pure gold in terms of value!

I had that happen when I lived closer to Busan because they have a much bigger Russian population. Also, if I was told correctly, they actually have a Russian district that has a lot of Russian prostitutes. I agree with Jonna, I just ask them “Il-bon Sa-ram?” Or tell them to mind their manners in informal Korean.